Argentina have named a 33-man training squad ahead of their Rugby Championship opener against South Africa next month.

The group, currently training in Pensacola, Florida, includes a fit-again Juan Martin Hernandez, who missed last year's Rugby World Cup with a knee injury and veterans Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Rodrigo Roncero.

Lock Patricio Albacete will skipper the Pumas, fresh from helping Toulouse to the Top 14 crown, while new Bath signing Horacio Agulla, Leicester's Marcus Ayerza and Exeter's Gonzalo Camacho are the only three Premiership players set for Championship action.

Felipe Contepomi is the most high-profile absentee after he opted to play in the recent home Tests against Italy and France rather than the Rugby Championship in a one-off deal offered by the Argentina Rugby Union. The 34-year-old, who is expected to retire from international rugby at the end of the year, has since returned to his French club Stade Francais ahead of the new domestic season and may yet return to the mix for the November internationals.

Albacete is relishing the opportunity to tackle southern hemisphere giants Australia, New Zealand and South Africa but is well aware of the challenge facing his side. "The Rugby Championship is going to be very tough," he said on the eve of his side's trip to the USA. "We are going to play against the best three teams in the world but it is the only way for us to make progress.

"To achieve a good result we are going to have to be perfect every weekend and we will see how many consecutive perfect games we can play. Hopefully we can play some great rugby, especially with the addition of Graham Henry, who is going to contribute so much to our campaign."